Hackers could target sex toys

AS more and more devices become connected to the internet, a software firm has warned of cyber thieves' increasing ability to control anything from medical equipment to industrial machinery to sex toys.

In a recent press conference, software firm Trend Micro demonstrated how a large, neon-pink vibrator could be activated remotely by typing out a few lines of code.

Amid sheepish giggles was the demonstrator's sobering message.

"If I hack a vibrator it's just fun," Raimund Genes, Chief Technology Officer at Tokyo-listed Trend Micro, said at the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover.

"But if I can get to the back-end, I can blackmail the manufacturer."

Beyond remotely activating a device, as sex toys get smarter, experts warn hackers could record video, which could be easily accessed.

Joe Bursell from Pen Test partners security services investigated the market last year and discovered "cyberdildonics".

"Apparently 'cyberdildonics' are set to be the next big thing in sex toys, allowing you to share 'sensations' across the internet," he said.

"There is no shortage of products from various manufacturers, and even a social media site where you can get some random who you'll probably never meet to 'drive' your sex toy for you," he explained.

"If an attacker could intercept the devices communications they could portray their victim as monumentally inept in the stimulation department, which would be hilarious and tragic in equal measure."

The firm reviewed toys from Lovense, which can use a video conferencing service.

Speaking to Forbes, the firm said: "There was no apparent encryption during the registration process, meaning anyone snooping on the line could get hold of login information.

"It will clearly be trivial to compromise a user's account and access some quite juicy content, particularly so if the victim is a 'friend' in a shared household using the same wireless access point."

Lovense refuted the claims telling MailOnline that there are three layers of security a hacker would have to get through. "'The server side, the way we transfer information from the user's phone to our server and on the client side,"

"We take our customer's private data very seriously, which is why we don't store any on our servers.

"Having said that, we could do a better job explaining how to responsibly store any recorded sessions, and we plan to do so in the future."